Level 3 Communications, Inc. has announced that it has extended its network infrastructure in the Seattle market with the construction of a direct network link to the advanced South Hill Data Center, a high-capacity, 8.6 megawatt, data center located in the Seattle metropolitan area. The data center hosts a range of customers who now have direct access to over 190 markets served by Level 3's international, IP network and the ability to efficiently and economically leverage Level 3's entire service portfolio.

Outsourced data centers offer enterprises the assurance that vital organizational information is managed and stored securely, while reducing core IT costs. However, with increasing data center use and globally expanding digital commerce, businesses require efficient access to their data. Level 3's connection to the South Hill Data Center was built in response to customer demand for direct access to Level 3's network and will facilitate efficient access to stored information at the data center. The direct connection also enables customers to have full access to Level 3's entire service portfolio, including transport, data, IP and voice services. The South Hill Data Center is located at 1111 39th Ave. SE, Puyallup, Wash. 98374.

"In addition to security, flexibility and reliability, our tenants demand direct access to backbone networks that are capable of scaling to meet their increasing business requirements," said Larry Benaroya, owner of the facility. "By having our data center directly connected to Level 3's network, we are able to offer our tenants this assurance and demonstrate our commitment to investing in first-rate solutions for this next-generation data center."

"As enterprises continue to adopt virtualized solutions for managing their critical business objectives, it is increasingly important for data center connections to optimize backbone network access," said Todd Holton, Level 3's General Manager for the Northwest. "The direct connection to the South Hill Data Center will provide facility tenants with efficient access to Level 3's network and full service portfolio, highlighting our commitment to meeting the local and global communications needs of Seattle-area enterprises."

Level 3 leverages its extensive fiber-optic network, metro assets and a locally focused sales and sales support organization to deliver world-class services to enterprise customers and service providers throughout the United States.